Flaring tool



Sept. 4, 1962 J. H. COLLIN ETAL FLARING TOOL Z5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJuly 16, 1957 J47 A4 Call/N JO/J/V C. GAFQETT v INVENTORS 7 Q Sept. 1962 J. H. COLLIN ETAL 3,052,280

FLARING TOOL Filed July 16, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jay A4 COAA/A/ Jay/v 6. 6422577 INVENTOR5 477 i/VEV assazso Patented Sept. 4, 1962 a,s52,2s FLARING TOOL .l'ay H. Collin, Pasadena, and John C. Garrett, Arcadia, Califsaid Garrett assignor to said Collin Fiied duty 16, 1957, Ser. No. 672,226 11 Claims. (Cl. 153-79) This invention relates to flaring tools and more particularly to an improved bench mounted tool for flaring the ends of both metal and plastic tubing with greater speed and uniformity than is possible with prior devices.

The present invention has been designed to meet the needs of small shops and manufacturing facilities for an accurate fast-operating flaring tool representing labor and time-saving advantages over prior hand flaring tools, yet utilizing a far less elaborate and expensive structure than automatic type flaring tools feasible only in large scale operations. Accordingly, there has been provided by the present invention a rugged tool adapted to be rigidly supported on a work bench and having means for clamping pipes of various sizes with their ends centered with respect to a flaring plunger. The design of the tool for rigid mounting on a bench has important advantages in that it leaves the hands of the operator free to manipulate the pipe clamping means and to operate the flaring plunger.

Other features of the design include automatic means for heating the flaring plunger to facilitate the flaring of plastic tubing and the relief of stresses resulting from the flaring operation. Another feature is the use of stop means for accurately gauging the projection of the pipe above the female flaring die, thereby greatly speeding the accurate clamping of the pipe and assuring uniform results. A further and particularly important feature is the use of a main frame so designed that it is usable selectively with either a manual actuator or a hydraulic actuator for the plunger, these actuators being readily substituted for one another.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved bench-supported flaring tool.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a flaring tool selectively usable with either manual or hydraulic power to actuate the flaring plunger.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a readily portable bench-mounted flaring tool having quickacting clamping means for rigidly gripping pipes of various sizes and featuring stop means for gauging the extension of the pipe end beyond the flaring anvil.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a bench mounted flaring tool having different sized multipie-cavity clamping means for pipe to be flared, the pipe clamping means being freely slidable in a guide passage and having stop means for limiting the withdrawal of the pipe clamp while pipe is being inserted or removed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a flaring tool having a heated flaring plunger adapted to be maintained at a desired temperature for use in flaring conduit with the aid of heat.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawings to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment provided with a manually-actuated operating lever and having a section of pipe clamped therein in readiness for the flaring operation;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the flaring tool taken along line 3-3 on FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 4-4 on FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the end of a tube as flared by the plunger; and

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view partly in section showing the same flaring too-l illustrated in FIGURE 1 powered by a hydraulic actuator for the plunger.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURES l to 5, there is shown a flaring tool designated generally 10 having a main frame comprising a base plate 11 and an upright central pedestal 12 joined to the base by a pair of parallel legs 13--13. These legs cooperate to provide an open-ended guideway 14 extending longitudinally of the tool with its lower surface flush with the top surface of base 11 and providing a support for a tubing clamping device designated generally 15. Clamping device 15 comprises a pair of generally similar jaws 16 and 17 connected at one end as by pins 18 and 19 to the tongue 26 of a slide limiting member 21. A keeper pin 22 projecting laterally from the rear ends of member 21 is positioned to abut the rear sides of legs 13 of the frame member when clamping device 15 is pulled to its foremost position wherein at least one of the jaws such as jaw 16 is outside guideway 14 and free to pivot laterally away from jaw 17. Thus it will be understood that members 21 and 22 serve to support the pipe clamping jaws 16 and 17 assembled within the guideway 14 and to permit the to-and-fro sliding movement of the clamping device between a closed position within the confines of guideway 14 and an open position when withdrawn forwardly beyond the end of the guideway Without, however, permitting the complete withdrawal of the clamping device.

As is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, pipe clamping jaw 17 preferably has its square rear ends abutting the shoulder at the rear end of tongue 2% thereby preventing pivoting of jaw 17. This arrangement is considered by some users to facilitate the loading and unloading of pipe sections in the receiving cavities. However, it is to be understood that the rear ends of jaw 17 may be rounded similarly to the corresponding end of jaw 16 to the end that both jaws may be opened away from one another when the clampis withdrawn from the forward end of guideway 14.

Clamping jaws 16 and 17 include a plurality of semicircular mating cavities 23 along the inner facing edges of the jaws, these preferably being provided with threads or sharp teeth 24 as is best shown in FIGURES 3 and 5 operating to bite into and grip the side walls of pipe to be flared. The upper or entrance ends of the pipe receiving cavities 23 are flared as indicated at 25 at an angle of approximately 45 and cooperate with the conical end of the flaring plunger as will be explained presently to control the shape of the tube flare. As herein shown, the largest one of the tube receiving cavities is located at the forward end of jaws 16 and 17 and has clamped therein a section of tubing in readiness to be flared. Although it is not essential, it is preferable to prow'de the forward end of one of the jaws, as jaw 17, with a positioning tenon 27. This tenon is held rigidly in assembled position by a pin 28 and its free end 29 projects laterally from jaw 17 and has a close sliding fit with a slot 30 in the end of jaw member 16 and assures the accurate mating of the two halves of the several pipe clamping cavities in the closed position of the jaws.

The means for assuring accurate registry with the pipe clamping cavities 23 with the flaring plunger will be best understood by reference to FIGURE 4 wherein there is shown a shouldered detent pin 33 having its rounded inner end extending through a shouldered bore 34 extending laterally through the side wall of guideway 14. This pin is urged outwardly by a compression spring 35 having one end seating against the shoulder at the inner end of bore 34 and its other end bearing against head 36 of pin 33. The rounded inner end of pin 33 is formed to seat in any one of the similar depressions or detents 37 formed in the side walls of jaw member I17 and spaced apart the same distance as are the centers of cavities 23. As herein shown, the centers of depressions 37 are directly opposite the centers of cavities 23.

The outer end of pin 33 bears against surface 318 of a cam lever 39 pivotally supported in a slot 40 opening laterally from one side of the tool frame and held in place therein by a cap screw 41. Cam surface 38 is so shaped that when the lever is in the dot-and-dash line position illustrated in FIGURE 4 pin 33 is held retracted by spring 35 out of detents 37 so that the pipe clamping device 15 can be moved freely along guideway 14. As the clamping lever 39 is moved to the right from the dot-anddash line position shown in FIGURE 4, it will be evident that cam surface 38 operates to press pin 33 inwardly to seat its rounded end in a desired one of depressions 37, thereby forcing teeth 24 of one of the pipe cavities 23 into tubing seated therein and also holding the jaws firmly locked closed and pressed toward the far side of guideway 14.

The flaring plunger comprises a generally cylindrical member 45 reciprocably supported in vertical bore 46 at the forward side of frame 12. The enlarged head 47 at the lower end of the plunger has a conical end 48, the base diameter of which is appreciably larger than the largest one of pipe seating cavities 23. A spring 49 surrounds the upper end of plunger 45 and has its lower end bearing against frame 12 and its upper end against a split ring keeper 54) seated in a groove of the plunger, the spring serving to hold the plunger retracted upwardly with its head 47 seated against wall 51 of the frame.

A longitudinal well 52 extending downwardly to a point near the tip of the plunger has seated therein an electric cartridge heater 53 provided with heavily insulated service cord 54 extending through a protective tube 55 projecting through the side wall of plunger 45. Wires 54 extend into an adjustable thermostatic control housing 56 secured to the side wall of frame 12 and having a knob 57 cooperating with a scale 58 to facilitate adjustment of the power supply to heater 53-. It will be understood that the power supply to the thermostatic control 56 may be provided in conventional manner. Normally, when using the device to flare metal pipe control knob 57 will be turned to the off position since heat is seldom required or beneficial in flaring metal pipe. However, when flaring tubing made of certain metals and more particularly of plastic it is quite desirable to maintain the flaring plunger at a desired temperature as an aid in softening the end of the tubing as it is flared and to relieve internal stresses caused by the flaring operation. Such preheating is found to prevent splitting of the tubing and to facilitate natural thinning of the material rather than elastic stretching with the result that the flare takes a permanent set and does not tend to revert to its original unflared condition.

Referring more particularly to FIGURES 2 and 3, it will be noted that the upper half of frame 12 is slotted longitudinally as indicated at 60 for the purpose of mounting and supporting therein either a manual or a power actuator for flaring plunger 45. As shown in FIGURE 3, there is mounted in this slot a manual actuator comprising handle 61 having a circular head 62 eccentrically supported on a pivot pin 63 having a threaded inner end mating with a threaded opening in the side wall of frame 12 here shown as being beneath the heat regulator 56. The lower side of head 62 bears against the forward end of a lever 65 resting in turn on the upper end of flaring plunger 45 and having its rear end pivoted on pin 66 supported in the opposite side walls of slot 6%. Normally when the plunger is retracted, operating handle 61 is inclined to the left as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 3 allowing spring 49 to hold plunger 45 retracted. Rotation of handle 61 forwardly operates through cam head 6-2 to depress lever 65 and the plunger thereby causing the conical end 48 of the plunger to enter the end of tube 26 and flare the same as is clearly illustrated in FIGURE 5. Reverse pivoting of handle 61 to its full line position permits spring 49 to retract the flaring plunger.

Another feature of the invention relates to a gauging stop designated generally 76 and best shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4. This stop comprises a generally L-shaped member having one leg 71 clamped to base it as by a cap screw 72. The other leg 73 is offset upwardly so as to lie in a plane parallel to base 11 but spaced the proper length of tube projection above the top surface of tube clamping jaws I6 and 17 required to form the flared end. In this way assurance is provided that the tube will project far enough to provide a flare of the required length yet one which does not flare so far as to interfere with the assembly of the coupling members.

As is best shown in FIGURE 3, leg '73 of the flare gauge device 70 is located slightly forward of the flaring plunger. In use, the cavity of the clamping jaws having a tube to be flared clamped therein is positioned below stop leg 73 and the tube end is shifted upwardly until it bears firmly against this stop. The operator then holds the jaws clamped firmly against the tube as the clamping device is pushed rearwardly in guideway 14 the short distance required to center the tube beneath the flaring plunger. The part is then tightly clamped in this position by swinging lever 39 forwardly about pivot pin 41. Owing to the use of a single clamping screw 72 for supporting stop means 70, the screw may be easily loosened allowing the stop to be swung to one side out of the path of the tube whenever its use is not desired. It will also be understood that the forward edge of leg 73 can be cammed upwardly to provide a pilot operating to shift an overly extending tube downwardly as the clamping jaws are shifted rearwardly in guideway 14.

Referring to FIGURE 6 there is shown an alternate or power actuator designated generally for operating the flaring plunger. This actuator comprises a cylinder 81 housing a piston 82 having its rim sealed against the cylinder side wall as by an O-ring 83. A piston rod 84 is secured to piston 82 by a nut 85 and has one end 86 supported in a bore 87 and its other end passing through an opening in removable end cap 88 for cylinder 81, piston 82 being urged upwardly to its retracted position by a compression spring 89. A supporting bracket 96 projects from end cap '88 and fits snugly between the side walls of slot 60 of frame 12 and is locked firmly in assembled position therein as by inserting pivot screw '63 into opening 92 (FIGURE 6) and pivot pin 66. 'It will be understood screw 63 does not seat in the same opening used in supporting operating handle 61 but into an identical alternate threaded hole 92.

Pressurized air for operating piston 32 is supplied from any suitable source through a conduit 94 opening into the top of cylinder 81 and controlled by a three-way valve 95. A vent 86 in end cap 88 permits air to flow into and out of the lower end of the cylinder. When the rotating element 97 of the valve is in the position shown, the air supply is cut off and the upper end of the cylinder is vented to the atmosphere through vent opening 93. However, when valve element 97 is rotated clockwise to bring the diarnetric passage 99 into alignment with conduits 94 it will be recognized that Vent 93 is closed allowing pressurized air to be supplied to the cylinder to depress the piston and lowering piston rod 94 against flaring plunger 45 to flare a tube end clamped in an underlying one of cavities 23. Reverse rotation of valve element 97 counter-clockwise cuts olf the air supply and vents the top of cylinder 811 to the atmosphere allowing spring 89 to move the piston upwardly and allowing the plunger to return to its retracted position under the influence of spring 49.

The mode of operation of the described flaring tool will be quite apparent from the foregoing detailed description of its components and their relationship to one another. Before using the tool, it is desirable, if not essential, to anchor the tool rigidly to a work bench. This may be done either by seating the longitudinal edges of base 11 in the jaws of a bench vise making use of the positioning grooves 1M along either edge or, in the alternative, the base may be rigidly secured to a bench by bolts passing through mounting holes 1131 at its rear corners. In either case, it is important that the notched opening 102 centrally of the forward edge of base it should overhang the side of the vise or the side of the bench in order that a tube to be flared can be aligned with the flaring plunger.

To secure a conduit to be flared in the tool, clam device 15 is slid forwardly in slot 1 -3 until jaws id and 17 lie entirely forwardly of guideway 14- in which position jaw 16 can be swung freely to its open position to receive a conduit 26 in a cavity 23 of the appropriate size. Since jaw 17 is preferably rigid with tongue 2d of member 21, the pipe can be placed in the portion of cavity 23 formed in this non-pivoting jaw member as jaw 16 is closed against the tube aided by the guiding influence of tenon member 27 and guide slot 3% in the end of jaw 16.

The jaws are now held loosely clamped against the tube as device 15 is slid rearwardly to bring the end of the tube beneath leg 73 of stop gauge 7% the tube being adjusted upwardly until it seats lightly against the under side of leg 73 for the purpose described above. so positioned, the clamping device is slid rearwardly beneath the flaring plunger as handle 39 is swung forwardly to seat pin 33 in cavity 37 thereby clamping the jaws firmly against the tube. If the manual operating handle 61 is assembled in frame 12, the flaring operation is performed by pulling lever 61 forwardly causing the eccentrically supported cam 62 on the handle to depress lever 65 and plunger into the tube thereby flaring it as illustrated in FIGURE 5. If the hydraulic power unit is supported in frame 12; as shown in FIGURE 6, then the rotation of the three-way valve to supply air to the top of the cylinder moves piston 82: downwardly against the upper end of plunger 45 to flare the tube. After the plunger has been retracted by spring 49, clamping handle 39 is shifted reanwardly to release pin 33 from detent 37 so that the clamping device can'be slid forwardly to release the flared pipe. It will be observed that in the described device both hands of the operator are free to handle the pipe and the two control levers 39 and or or the air valve control lever.

In the case of tubing made of certain metals or, more particularly, plastic tubing, a Warm to hot plunger is advantageous in which eventuality control knob 57 of the temperature control unit is turned on to a desired setting enabling heater cartridge 53 to maintain the flaring plunger at the requisite temperature. it will be understood that the device is operated in exactly the same manner described above in flaring plastic tubing except that the plunger may be held depressed for a longer period of time if necessary to heat-soften the end of the tubing. Normally, this holding period can be cut to a minimum by the proper setting of the thermostatic control for the heater.

While the particular flaring tool herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction d or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A bench-supported heavy duty pipe flaring tool readily convertible between power and manual operation, said tool comprising a main frame having a generally horizontal guideway for a multiple cavity clamping device for pipes of various sizes, a reciprocably supported flaring plunger movable toward and away from said guideway, an upwardly opening slot in said frame extending across the end of said plunger, means associated with said slot for selectively supporting therein manually operable lever means and hydraulic piston means whereby either type of operator means can be employed to operate said plunger.

2. A heavy duty pipe flaring tool having an inverted T-shaped main frame including the upright stem portion and a head portion forming a wide-surfaced supporting base, said base including means thereon for securing said flaring tool rigidly to a work bench, said frame being provided with a slideway of rectangular cross-section slidably supporting therealong a pair of elongated pipe clamping jaws pivotally connected together near one end, said jaws having a plurality of mating recesses along their facing lateral edges to clamp pipe ends of different sizes while being flared, a reciprocably supported normally-retracted flaring plunger mounted vertically in the stem portion of said T-shaped frame having a pointed lower end movable toward and away from an underlying pair of mating re cesses in said clamping jaws, the stem portion of said T-shaped frame being provided with a vertically extending slot opening through the upper end thereof and pivotally supportinr therewithin lever means having a cam in contact with the upper end of said flaring plunger and constituting manually-controlled means for depressing the plunger against a pipe end clamped in said clamping jaws to flare the same.

3. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 2 characterized in the provision of cam lever means pivotally supported in the base of said frame including means operable thereby to force said clamping jaws rigidly against the opposite sides of a pipe end while holding said clamping jaws against movement along said slideway and for holding said pipe end in axial alignment with. the axis of said plunger.

4. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 2 characterized in that in its normal retracted position the weight of said lever is effective to counterbalance the lever away from the upper end of said flaring plunger, whereby a deliberate act of an operator is required to pivot said lever into a position effective to lower the plunger toward said slideway.

5. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 2 characterized in that the opposite lateral edges of said frame base are cut away along their lower corners to seat the jaws of a bench vise, whereby said tool may be mounted in a vise while in use and then removed until again required to flare pipe.

6. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 2 characterized in that the pivot connection between the adjacent ends of said clamping jaws includes an elongated member having a loose sliding fit with said slideway, and stop means projecting from the outer end of said last-mentioned member engageable with the end of said slideway when said jaws are pulled forwardly therealong to a position permitting the same to be swung apart to receive a pipe end.

7. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said main frame is of inverted T-shape with said horizontal guideway extending transversely of the head portion of said T-shaped frame and said upwardly opening slot being located in the upper end of the stem portion of said frame.

8. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 7 characterized in that the head portion of said T-shaped main frame has a broad flat lower surface adapted to be clamped to a work bench with said plunger offset forwardly of the edge of the work bench and in aXial alignment with a pipe to be flared while clamped in said tool beneath the lower end of said flaring plunger, and means on the head portion of said main frame for facilitating anchorage of said frame to a work bench.

9. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 8 characterized in that the head portion of said main frame includes manually operable clamping means for clamping said clamping device for pipe with a selected one of its multiple cavities ayially aligned with the axis of said flaring plunger.

10. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 1 characterized in that the lateral side walls of said upwardly opening slot in said main frame are pierced with a plurality of pairs of aligned openings each pair of which is adapted to receive and seat separate pivot pins for said lever means and said hydraulic piston means and effective to hold either one of said last named means operatively assembled in said upwardly opening slot.

11. A pipe flaring tool as defined in claim 10 characterized in that a plurality of the same ones of said separate pivot pins are required for holding said lever means and said hydraulic piston means assembled to said main frame depending on which one of said last named means is selected for use with said main frame at any given time.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS Miller et al May 13, Schultis Apr. 1, McDonough Mar. 17, Solomon Apr. 14, Parker Aug. 3, Brown Dec. 2, McIntosh May 30, Lyon Sept. 5, Rechton et al. July 6, Marchant Feb. 1, Bachli et al. Nov. 29, Watts Nov. 28, Franck Dec. 19, Downing Apr, 13, Quercetti et al. Feb. 28, Franck June 30,

FOREEGN PATENTS Canada Aug. 23, Great Britain July 12, Sweden Feb. 28, 

